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For Me This is my Life, for Him Just Another Surgery on His Schedule.
ORIGINAL POST
For Me This is my Life, for Him Just Another Surgery on His Schedule.
My daughter's father lives in Santo Domingo, and Dominican Republic is a country I have visited quite often over the course of my relationship. Not only is surgery a lot cheaper than what it would be in the states (Later found out that this is not the case), but I figured my daughters could stay with their dad while I get this done and who doesn't want to save a couple of thousand dollars, right?
There are 30,000 registered doctors and practices on here, so I went to work. I sent numerous consultation requests to different doctors in Santo Domingo. It seems they all have a standard response of a long-drawn-out email with tons of grammatical errors and communicate through chat on Whatsapp through either their team or someone selling their services for them. There was no authenticity in their response, just a lot of cut, copy, and paste responses, not what I was looking for. I was starting to get turned off, and then I received a message from Dr. Jose Leon, and he asked if I had time to speak in detail on the procedures I wanted to get. We schedule a consult for that day, and I was able to walk him through what I wanted to be done and what I was expecting. He was kind, polite and spoke great English. I wanted to do my breasts, lipo, tummy tuck, and arms. He was concerned and only committed to doing two procedures for this surgery because he advised me that was the safest way to go. Out of all the other doctors I consulted with, he was one of the few who was actually working when I wanted to do this surgery was December 29, 2020, because in the Dominican Republic, they take a few weeks off around the holidays, and almost all others were. We confirmed the date, I paid a deposit, and my surgery was set. I followed up a few times in between. I wanted to know what method he used when doing the arm lift and if he had any graphs or documents to read and sign, but he assured me that would be all done when we met in person. My surgery's total cost was $4,500, and that did not include the round care nurse that I needed, the apartment I rented, flights, or any food, and additional transportation. So after your tally up all the expenses, my total cost was around $10,000.I was nervous but determined to do this, and not only did I overpack, but I purchased way too many things that I didn't need. It would have helped receive some packing guidelines or things you would need from this procedure. As a business owner that helps other brands thrive, we go above and beyond for our consumers and the overall consumer experience. I hope this blog gives doctors in the Dominican Republic some insight into how to run and treat patients as we are not their paychecks, but humans and our livelihoods are at stake!I arrived in Santo Domingo on December 27, 2020, and was picked up by my doctor driver. My friend Rosie traveled with me and my two daughters, who were set to leave with their father the following day for a few weeks. This was the longest time I have ever been away from them, but I was determined and mentally prepared for this, so I thought! I had been waiting years and have lost over 125 lbs. This was a journey down my self-love path, and I just visioned it would be different, but you honestly can never predict what to expect from these procedures because it all depends on the person and so many other factors. I was seen by a COVID specialist, cardiologist, and lung doctor. I did all my blood work in the states, and I was cleared for my surgery. The morning of the surgery, my doctor came in, marked me up, and prepped me for the procedure. As I was being pushed to the operating room, I went through one set of doors, and before I went into the second door, I was given a needle and immediately went under. I woke up during my procedure and which was pretty scary. I can feel someone still working on my left arm, and I said out loud, hi guys, I am awake, and someone readjusted the cover on my face, and they continued as if they didn't hear me, I must have dozed back off because I woke up as I was being wheeled in back to my room. After coming too in my room, I was crabby, my back hurt, and I was told crying from what I was saying was the pain. The doctor covered my arms in ace bandages and my stomach a compression garment. I was set to spend the first twenty-four hours at the clinic, and let me clear here you do not need to hire a nurse or anyone to stay with you as there are nurses on call. I hired a nurse, and she slept most of the night. I had a catheter in and was not allowed to get out of bed. For me, the pain and sleeping medication that I was given did not work, and it was so difficult for me to fall asleep. I just wanted to get up and move, and I couldn't. I felt helpless, and there was nothing I can do about it. The next day was pretty rough. I couldn't move without assistance. Doing a tummy-tuck and an arm lift at the same time is a lot. Not only can you not use your core, but you can't use your arms at all, and without assistance, you are pretty much incapable of doing anything. You really have to be strong-minded and prepare mentally if you are considering doing these two simultaneously. The ace bandages on my arms were unraveling, and it is now 10:00 AM, and my doctor has yet to come to my room, and I was all types of crazy at this point. I just wanted to get up and move around, and I could not do that without my doctor. I summoned him to my room, and he walked in as if I was the problem and didn't understand the problem. He actually called me a big baby, to be exact.He removes my ace bandages and removes the tubes in my arms placed there to drain liquid, clean the wounds, and place my compression sleeves on my arms. As he is placing the sleeves on my arms, I tell him that they are way too small, and he disregards my concerns and continues to place the compression sleeves on my arms. When I tell you I almost fainted from the pain, I am not exaggerating at all. I am now sent back to my apartment to heal with my nurse, and the journey begins. Listen, this surgery is not for the weak, and this surgery or any surgery should not be taken lightly. Everyone has a different experience, and there wasn't enough preparation I could have done to help me with this recovery process. I was miserable, no appetite for anything healthy, and all I wanted was comfort food. I hired a chef to cook and started eating hearty soups, and my appetite slowly started coming back.After about forty-eight hours, I noticed my arms were really swollen, and the compression sleeves were cutting into my incision under my arm. I advised the doctor but was met with no response. I called his assistant, who was always a call away and very helpful through this ordeal, and she told me to remove the compression sleeves and scheduled me for an appointment to see him. I also had so many issues with bowel movement and with a tummy tuck; I am told this is normal, but prepare yourself because this can be another painful experience and lead to other complications that are not expected either.I was in pain, and the pain medications in the Dominican Republic, in my opinion, don't work. I now have no feeling in my arms, and they are so swollen, my back hurts from having to keep myself down, and I am in a really delicate space mentally. Everything bothered me, and depression was creeping in, and I was just not happy. Not to mention I am away from my family and friends, and it was all starting to take a mental toll on me. A therapy session or two being implemented with cosmetic care surgery should definitely be a service that should be provided because you are putting your body through so much trauma. It does affect your overall mental as well. As my nurse was wiping me down, she noticed that the incisions under both of my arms opened up and immediately notified the doctor. (As you can see from my pictures where it started opening and how bad it got to how they look now) Mind you, I had just gone to his office the day before, and he did not notice that at all. All I kept hearing was this is normal and something that happens, but I was clear that because I was given compression sleeves that were too tight and cutting under my arms, that was one of the reasons why I had these open incisions under my arms. The doctor prescribes me an antibiotic powder to place under my arms directly on my incisions, tells me to keep the compressions on, and sends me home. This made the incisions worst as they kept opening, and my arms were getting more and more swollen, and I was so over it! Firstly, this technique should be done by an expert. This doctor was a board-certified plastic surgeon and had immaculate reviews, but not in a Brachioplasty, and I should have made sure to go to someone that was. The arms are complicated and one of the most painful procedures, in my opinion. Arms should be liposuctioned, the area of incision completely cleaned out, and then cut. From what other experts have told me, he just cut. No measurements were taken of my arms and what I am currently experiencing is nerve damage on my left arm that still has no feeling whatsoever and mildly on my right. One side is huge compared to my right, and Jose's response to this was, "it's nearly impossible to measure your arms and see any difference because of the inference inflammation plays immediately as surgery starts. An arm lift stops at the elbows so doctors lipo the area, I dont." So I'm told that pre-surgery should include complete measurements and assessments of the person's body you are working on to determine what needs to be cut, how an elbow area would look once a certain part is cut, and trying to make sure that symmetrically you get it to look as aligned as possible for the patient you are working on before the actual surgery. Jose did not provide that, and his emails and responses aid no real solution. His lack of explaining his procedures thoroughly and actually doing proper pre and post-care prevents him from truly giving each patient unique care as everybody is different. From what he states, the body becomes instantly inflamed and hard to really determine once they are in surgery.So as I am healing, I am starting to notice that my incisions were looking bad. I was worried about an infection, so I sent him a message, and he called me right away only to bash me for not keeping my arms still and accused me of moving them, which was why my incisions were opening. Of course, at this point, I was livid and had to remind him that I was not a child, and that was not the reason which he immediately apologized and asked me to come in first thing in the morning for stitches. He then apologized again for his behavior; however, to bash a patient that has just undergone a procedure is just unethical as a medical professional he needs to do better. His emotions got the best of him during a few of our conversations, and I would never trust this human with my life ever again. When you put stitches on a wound that is a few weeks old, more than likely, your body will reject them because your skin is too fragile to hold them in place. He stitched one side, and the day I left the country, he stitched the other side. As he wrapped up, he realized that he never removed the stitches from my belly button and did that as well, which. Had I not went in to get my incision stitched up, I would have come back to the states with stitches that should have been taking out weeks ago. At that time, the lining around my belly button was bright red, and I was a bit concerned again; he assured me that this was all normal, and off I went back to Miami. When I got back, it was definitely an adjustment for me. I no longer have round-the-clock care and the comfort that I had in the other apartment I rented. I am now having to be a full-time mom again and need to get back to work, but my incisions at this point were worrying me. I noticed that my stitches all came apart, and some were hanging off my arm. Not to mention my belly button looked infected, and I was worried, so I went to urgent care. He cleaned everything up, removed the stitches hanging, and took a culture from my belly button for testing. He put me on oral antibiotics for ten days because he was certain the culture would come back as abnormal and wanted to be safe. I am grateful he did because it did come back abnormal! He also gave me antibiotics cream and told me to use nonadhesive pads and keep my incisions covered. A week or so went by, and I was still noticing that my incisions were not healing. Not only that, but they were letting off a smelly substance, and I was worried, so I went to the emergency room. Listen, I was freaking out at this point. I still can't use my arms, they were super swollen, and I have my three-year-old that wants mommy to hold her. Let's not forget we are in the middle of a pandemic, and going to an emergency room is not something I want to do, but I know I have to. The doctor immediately removes the non-adhesive pads and says that I am keeping the incisions too moist and it needs to heal. He tells me to remove all compressions and let my incision breathe. At this point, I am so over doctors because clearly I have been given a different diagnosis, but this doctor made the most sense. You can't heal a wound if the moisture is trapped in, it has to be kept as dry as possible, and the compressions don't help either. I was sent home and given a plastic surgeon to follow up with. I was also experiencing my tummy tuck incisions opening, and I was so overwhelmed with fear at this point. By the time I had my follow-up appointment with the plastic surgeon here in Florida, the incisions were finally closing up, but I noticed that now they were forming a pulling from the very painful scar. The doctor assessed me and coached me on the importance of doing this procedure in the states. He critiqued the work done and continues to see me to this day. We are working on a solution to fix my arms' scarring, and my left arm needs to be redone. My left arm is a size 16, and my right arm a size 14. I still have little to no feeling in my left arm, and my belly button has dead skin around the navel, so I now have a discoloration there, and we still have not come up with a plan of action for this because he wants to see if it adjusts on its own. I have fat pockets in places I didn't have before, and the top part of my body looks so much bigger than my body. This has really again taken a toll on my mental health, and I am now in counseling from all the stress that I have had to endure during this whole procedure. I dont have the time or energy to sue this doctor, let alone look into any other means of solutions, because in his eyes, his EGO is too big to acknowledge his lack as a physician caring for people's lives.Post-care is truly nonexistent, and you are just another surgery on their roster. When they collect their money, they move on. I can honestly keep going with the cons. I realized that it's not that much of a price difference to do it here in the states versus out of the country. I can not go back and change the decision I have made, but I can coach the next woman and make sure she knows exactly what she is getting into. Surgery is not for the weak, and being surrounded by loved ones is so important. Life is a book of lessons, and with each lesson, we grow and learn. We can't dwell on the decisions we make, and we must learn to keep going the best way we know-how. I am grateful to have found a doctor who will help me clean up the mess Dr. Jose Leon made, but I now know I have to prepare myself for another surgery, and as I have mentioned, time and time again; surgery is not for the weak, and if you don't the time to really study and research the procedures, you are doing and making sure that the doctor actually has experience in the areas you are looking to work on. We are always looking to cut corners in life, and there are times when we don't. This is a situation where you should not cut any corners.For these doctors, you are another surgery on their roster, and they forget for you this is your life, and it's up to you to find a doctor that truly still sees that and values that. For the ladies that are contemplating surgery, I will say this. If it is truly not needed and something you can achieve by working out, please do. Let plastic surgery be your last option, and when you do, please find a doctor that you have really done your homework on. For me, this experience with Jose ends here, and I am hoping for him he learns from this and gets the education, services, resources, and alignment in place to make sure he never does this with any other patient he works on. ?Pictures: Show you all I am referencing above, and I am open to help you or answer any questions. Follow me on Instagram @RandaQuraan
There are 30,000 registered doctors and practices on here, so I went to work. I sent numerous consultation requests to different doctors in Santo Domingo. It seems they all have a standard response of a long-drawn-out email with tons of grammatical errors and communicate through chat on Whatsapp through either their team or someone selling their services for them. There was no authenticity in their response, just a lot of cut, copy, and paste responses, not what I was looking for. I was starting to get turned off, and then I received a message from Dr. Jose Leon, and he asked if I had time to speak in detail on the procedures I wanted to get. We schedule a consult for that day, and I was able to walk him through what I wanted to be done and what I was expecting. He was kind, polite and spoke great English. I wanted to do my breasts, lipo, tummy tuck, and arms. He was concerned and only committed to doing two procedures for this surgery because he advised me that was the safest way to go. Out of all the other doctors I consulted with, he was one of the few who was actually working when I wanted to do this surgery was December 29, 2020, because in the Dominican Republic, they take a few weeks off around the holidays, and almost all others were. We confirmed the date, I paid a deposit, and my surgery was set. I followed up a few times in between. I wanted to know what method he used when doing the arm lift and if he had any graphs or documents to read and sign, but he assured me that would be all done when we met in person. My surgery's total cost was $4,500, and that did not include the round care nurse that I needed, the apartment I rented, flights, or any food, and additional transportation. So after your tally up all the expenses, my total cost was around $10,000.I was nervous but determined to do this, and not only did I overpack, but I purchased way too many things that I didn't need. It would have helped receive some packing guidelines or things you would need from this procedure. As a business owner that helps other brands thrive, we go above and beyond for our consumers and the overall consumer experience. I hope this blog gives doctors in the Dominican Republic some insight into how to run and treat patients as we are not their paychecks, but humans and our livelihoods are at stake!I arrived in Santo Domingo on December 27, 2020, and was picked up by my doctor driver. My friend Rosie traveled with me and my two daughters, who were set to leave with their father the following day for a few weeks. This was the longest time I have ever been away from them, but I was determined and mentally prepared for this, so I thought! I had been waiting years and have lost over 125 lbs. This was a journey down my self-love path, and I just visioned it would be different, but you honestly can never predict what to expect from these procedures because it all depends on the person and so many other factors. I was seen by a COVID specialist, cardiologist, and lung doctor. I did all my blood work in the states, and I was cleared for my surgery. The morning of the surgery, my doctor came in, marked me up, and prepped me for the procedure. As I was being pushed to the operating room, I went through one set of doors, and before I went into the second door, I was given a needle and immediately went under. I woke up during my procedure and which was pretty scary. I can feel someone still working on my left arm, and I said out loud, hi guys, I am awake, and someone readjusted the cover on my face, and they continued as if they didn't hear me, I must have dozed back off because I woke up as I was being wheeled in back to my room. After coming too in my room, I was crabby, my back hurt, and I was told crying from what I was saying was the pain. The doctor covered my arms in ace bandages and my stomach a compression garment. I was set to spend the first twenty-four hours at the clinic, and let me clear here you do not need to hire a nurse or anyone to stay with you as there are nurses on call. I hired a nurse, and she slept most of the night. I had a catheter in and was not allowed to get out of bed. For me, the pain and sleeping medication that I was given did not work, and it was so difficult for me to fall asleep. I just wanted to get up and move, and I couldn't. I felt helpless, and there was nothing I can do about it. The next day was pretty rough. I couldn't move without assistance. Doing a tummy-tuck and an arm lift at the same time is a lot. Not only can you not use your core, but you can't use your arms at all, and without assistance, you are pretty much incapable of doing anything. You really have to be strong-minded and prepare mentally if you are considering doing these two simultaneously. The ace bandages on my arms were unraveling, and it is now 10:00 AM, and my doctor has yet to come to my room, and I was all types of crazy at this point. I just wanted to get up and move around, and I could not do that without my doctor. I summoned him to my room, and he walked in as if I was the problem and didn't understand the problem. He actually called me a big baby, to be exact.He removes my ace bandages and removes the tubes in my arms placed there to drain liquid, clean the wounds, and place my compression sleeves on my arms. As he is placing the sleeves on my arms, I tell him that they are way too small, and he disregards my concerns and continues to place the compression sleeves on my arms. When I tell you I almost fainted from the pain, I am not exaggerating at all. I am now sent back to my apartment to heal with my nurse, and the journey begins. Listen, this surgery is not for the weak, and this surgery or any surgery should not be taken lightly. Everyone has a different experience, and there wasn't enough preparation I could have done to help me with this recovery process. I was miserable, no appetite for anything healthy, and all I wanted was comfort food. I hired a chef to cook and started eating hearty soups, and my appetite slowly started coming back.After about forty-eight hours, I noticed my arms were really swollen, and the compression sleeves were cutting into my incision under my arm. I advised the doctor but was met with no response. I called his assistant, who was always a call away and very helpful through this ordeal, and she told me to remove the compression sleeves and scheduled me for an appointment to see him. I also had so many issues with bowel movement and with a tummy tuck; I am told this is normal, but prepare yourself because this can be another painful experience and lead to other complications that are not expected either.I was in pain, and the pain medications in the Dominican Republic, in my opinion, don't work. I now have no feeling in my arms, and they are so swollen, my back hurts from having to keep myself down, and I am in a really delicate space mentally. Everything bothered me, and depression was creeping in, and I was just not happy. Not to mention I am away from my family and friends, and it was all starting to take a mental toll on me. A therapy session or two being implemented with cosmetic care surgery should definitely be a service that should be provided because you are putting your body through so much trauma. It does affect your overall mental as well. As my nurse was wiping me down, she noticed that the incisions under both of my arms opened up and immediately notified the doctor. (As you can see from my pictures where it started opening and how bad it got to how they look now) Mind you, I had just gone to his office the day before, and he did not notice that at all. All I kept hearing was this is normal and something that happens, but I was clear that because I was given compression sleeves that were too tight and cutting under my arms, that was one of the reasons why I had these open incisions under my arms. The doctor prescribes me an antibiotic powder to place under my arms directly on my incisions, tells me to keep the compressions on, and sends me home. This made the incisions worst as they kept opening, and my arms were getting more and more swollen, and I was so over it! Firstly, this technique should be done by an expert. This doctor was a board-certified plastic surgeon and had immaculate reviews, but not in a Brachioplasty, and I should have made sure to go to someone that was. The arms are complicated and one of the most painful procedures, in my opinion. Arms should be liposuctioned, the area of incision completely cleaned out, and then cut. From what other experts have told me, he just cut. No measurements were taken of my arms and what I am currently experiencing is nerve damage on my left arm that still has no feeling whatsoever and mildly on my right. One side is huge compared to my right, and Jose's response to this was, "it's nearly impossible to measure your arms and see any difference because of the inference inflammation plays immediately as surgery starts. An arm lift stops at the elbows so doctors lipo the area, I dont." So I'm told that pre-surgery should include complete measurements and assessments of the person's body you are working on to determine what needs to be cut, how an elbow area would look once a certain part is cut, and trying to make sure that symmetrically you get it to look as aligned as possible for the patient you are working on before the actual surgery. Jose did not provide that, and his emails and responses aid no real solution. His lack of explaining his procedures thoroughly and actually doing proper pre and post-care prevents him from truly giving each patient unique care as everybody is different. From what he states, the body becomes instantly inflamed and hard to really determine once they are in surgery.So as I am healing, I am starting to notice that my incisions were looking bad. I was worried about an infection, so I sent him a message, and he called me right away only to bash me for not keeping my arms still and accused me of moving them, which was why my incisions were opening. Of course, at this point, I was livid and had to remind him that I was not a child, and that was not the reason which he immediately apologized and asked me to come in first thing in the morning for stitches. He then apologized again for his behavior; however, to bash a patient that has just undergone a procedure is just unethical as a medical professional he needs to do better. His emotions got the best of him during a few of our conversations, and I would never trust this human with my life ever again. When you put stitches on a wound that is a few weeks old, more than likely, your body will reject them because your skin is too fragile to hold them in place. He stitched one side, and the day I left the country, he stitched the other side. As he wrapped up, he realized that he never removed the stitches from my belly button and did that as well, which. Had I not went in to get my incision stitched up, I would have come back to the states with stitches that should have been taking out weeks ago. At that time, the lining around my belly button was bright red, and I was a bit concerned again; he assured me that this was all normal, and off I went back to Miami. When I got back, it was definitely an adjustment for me. I no longer have round-the-clock care and the comfort that I had in the other apartment I rented. I am now having to be a full-time mom again and need to get back to work, but my incisions at this point were worrying me. I noticed that my stitches all came apart, and some were hanging off my arm. Not to mention my belly button looked infected, and I was worried, so I went to urgent care. He cleaned everything up, removed the stitches hanging, and took a culture from my belly button for testing. He put me on oral antibiotics for ten days because he was certain the culture would come back as abnormal and wanted to be safe. I am grateful he did because it did come back abnormal! He also gave me antibiotics cream and told me to use nonadhesive pads and keep my incisions covered. A week or so went by, and I was still noticing that my incisions were not healing. Not only that, but they were letting off a smelly substance, and I was worried, so I went to the emergency room. Listen, I was freaking out at this point. I still can't use my arms, they were super swollen, and I have my three-year-old that wants mommy to hold her. Let's not forget we are in the middle of a pandemic, and going to an emergency room is not something I want to do, but I know I have to. The doctor immediately removes the non-adhesive pads and says that I am keeping the incisions too moist and it needs to heal. He tells me to remove all compressions and let my incision breathe. At this point, I am so over doctors because clearly I have been given a different diagnosis, but this doctor made the most sense. You can't heal a wound if the moisture is trapped in, it has to be kept as dry as possible, and the compressions don't help either. I was sent home and given a plastic surgeon to follow up with. I was also experiencing my tummy tuck incisions opening, and I was so overwhelmed with fear at this point. By the time I had my follow-up appointment with the plastic surgeon here in Florida, the incisions were finally closing up, but I noticed that now they were forming a pulling from the very painful scar. The doctor assessed me and coached me on the importance of doing this procedure in the states. He critiqued the work done and continues to see me to this day. We are working on a solution to fix my arms' scarring, and my left arm needs to be redone. My left arm is a size 16, and my right arm a size 14. I still have little to no feeling in my left arm, and my belly button has dead skin around the navel, so I now have a discoloration there, and we still have not come up with a plan of action for this because he wants to see if it adjusts on its own. I have fat pockets in places I didn't have before, and the top part of my body looks so much bigger than my body. This has really again taken a toll on my mental health, and I am now in counseling from all the stress that I have had to endure during this whole procedure. I dont have the time or energy to sue this doctor, let alone look into any other means of solutions, because in his eyes, his EGO is too big to acknowledge his lack as a physician caring for people's lives.Post-care is truly nonexistent, and you are just another surgery on their roster. When they collect their money, they move on. I can honestly keep going with the cons. I realized that it's not that much of a price difference to do it here in the states versus out of the country. I can not go back and change the decision I have made, but I can coach the next woman and make sure she knows exactly what she is getting into. Surgery is not for the weak, and being surrounded by loved ones is so important. Life is a book of lessons, and with each lesson, we grow and learn. We can't dwell on the decisions we make, and we must learn to keep going the best way we know-how. I am grateful to have found a doctor who will help me clean up the mess Dr. Jose Leon made, but I now know I have to prepare myself for another surgery, and as I have mentioned, time and time again; surgery is not for the weak, and if you don't the time to really study and research the procedures, you are doing and making sure that the doctor actually has experience in the areas you are looking to work on. We are always looking to cut corners in life, and there are times when we don't. This is a situation where you should not cut any corners.For these doctors, you are another surgery on their roster, and they forget for you this is your life, and it's up to you to find a doctor that truly still sees that and values that. For the ladies that are contemplating surgery, I will say this. If it is truly not needed and something you can achieve by working out, please do. Let plastic surgery be your last option, and when you do, please find a doctor that you have really done your homework on. For me, this experience with Jose ends here, and I am hoping for him he learns from this and gets the education, services, resources, and alignment in place to make sure he never does this with any other patient he works on. ?Pictures: Show you all I am referencing above, and I am open to help you or answer any questions. Follow me on Instagram @RandaQuraan


Replies (5)
Which does not mean he is not doing surgery..it could also mean some people don't write comments about their procedure. Your comment is the first comment that I have seen about this surgeon, negative with 1 star. And he called you a big baby WTF. Thank you for your honesty.. I will keep looking by the way I live in NYC. but I think I'll just look for a surgeon here.$$$.. I do hope you will heel soon. So sorry to here about your awful experience! You said you woke up during surgery.. It could have been far worse and you didn't wake up at all, thank God you did. Santo Domingo have the highest death rate from all countries abroad when it comes to elective plastic surgery..Did you know that any Dr. could perform plastic surgery on you even if he's not experienced or have any training on procedure that you want. A podiatrist a optometrist any one of them will and can perform breast augmentation breast reduction BBL lipo.anything a person wants. Thanks again for your honesty.